by Ivan Foley
Landmark editor
Missouri Supreme Court Judge Zel Fischer was at the Platte County Courthouse on Monday carrying an award and words of praise for the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Platte County.
Fischer presented the Permanency Award to the Sixth Judicial Circuit for its holding of timely hearings in 2009 in child abuse and neglect cases. Those cases involved children removed from their homes being reunited with their families or children who are to be placed in another permanent home as soon as possible.
“This circuit has always had a good reputation for timely juvenile hearings,” Fisher said.
This is the third time the Sixth Circuit has won the award. Twenty three judicial circuits will receive the award this year.
In accepting the honor in behalf of the circuit, Presiding Judge Lee Hull pointed out it was the first time a Supreme Court judge had come to make the presentation.
“We appreciate the time you took to come present it to us,” Hull told Fischer.
Also on hand for the ceremony was Janet Warner, chief juvenile officer.
“I have an outstanding staff,” Warner said, and she introduced many of her staff members who were on hand for the ceremony, which was held in the Division I courtroom.
“Timely hearings are critical when children are removed from their homes and are to be reunited with their families or are to be placed in other permanent homes as soon as possible,” Fischer said. “The nature of these cases can make it very difficult to hold timely hearings unless the officials involved exert strong and continuous efforts to do so, and those courts that achieve the highest success deserve recognition for their difficult achievement.”
Improvement in the timeliness of hearings throughout the state continues to be seen, Fischer said.
“In the four years since we have instituted the award, the timeliness of hearings throughout the state has continued to increase. Of the more than 36,000 required hearings, 98 percent of them were held on time. This is an increase of one percent from last year and three percent from the year before,” Fischer explained.
“The success this circuit has achieved is a testament to the leadership and hard work of judges, juvenile officers, clerks and other support staff,” he added.
The hearing time frames apply for six types of hearings and vary depending on the type of hearing. For example, courts should hold a hearing to determine whether a child safely can return home within three business days from the date the child is taken into protective custody.
Another time frame provides that courts should hold a permanency hearing to decide a child’s permanent placement within 12 months from the date the child is taken into protective custody.
These time frames were developed based on recommendations from the Commission on Children’s Justice.
In evaluating what circuits qualify for the permanency awards, the circuits first were placed in size classes based on the total number of hearings that were due during a particular time period. A circuit then had to rank among the top two in its size class to qualify.
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